A harmful algal bloom turned the water in Put-in-Bay Harbor, between downtown Put-in-Bay and Gibraltar Island, green in this late August photo. Stone Lab is located on Gibraltar Island, pictured.

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When Carroll Township saw a huge bloom of toxic blue-green algae near its water intake last month, township officials warned residents not to drink the water from its plant.

The warning lasted for about a day, while Superintendent Henry Biggert tested for toxin levels and worked with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to ensure the toxin, produced by the harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie's Western Basin, was removed from the treated drinking water.

But Biggert and Carroll Township didn't have to take any of those steps. ...